The bilateral trade volume between Qatar and China stood at $13.5bn (QR49.16bn) last year (2018), witnessing a 30 percent growth compared to $10.4bn (QR37.87bn) recorded in 2017, according to data provided by Qatar Chamber.
In a meeting with a Chinese trade delegation yesterday, Chairman of Qatar Chamber Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani said Qatar and China enjoyed strong and historic relations covering all aspects of cooperation.
Sheikh Khalifa noted that China is a very important trade partner to Qatar, while Qatar is importing a lot of goods and commodities from China, the world’s second-largest economy.
The meeting examined economic and trade relations of the two countries, and business opportunities available in Qatar and Chengdu city especially in sports, construction, tourism, education, and technology.
The meeting was attended by Qatar Chamber Director General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi and Chairman of Taleb Group Mohamed Taleb Al Khauri.
Sheikh Khalifa also said that Qatar market is full of opportunities for cooperation and companies from both the countries can cooperate for mutual benefits, noting that there is a considerable number of Chinese companies that are working in Qatar and contributing to transferring Chinese high technology to the Qatari economy.
Qatar’s economy is open and welcomes all foreign investments. The Chamber highly supports enhancing cooperation between Qatari companies and their Chinese counterparts, he added.
Fan Ruiping, the head of Chinese delegation, extended his gratitude to Qatar Chamber for hosting the trade delegation and enabling members to inform Qatar business community on Chengdu city and its contribution to the Chinese economy.
He said that the objective of the visit is to explore the Qatari market and the available opportunities as well as informing Qatari businessmen on the investments of Chengdu city.
Ruiping praised Qatar saying that it’s a very unique country in many aspects. “Qatar is witnessing an enormous economic renaissance and is providing a lot of investment opportunities that attract Chinese companies,” he said.
Ruiping delivered a presentation about his city which is the gateway to Western China, saying that its GDP last year hit $210bn recording an 8.1 percent growth and its exports grew by 20 percent.
He also said that Chengdu is one of the biggest cities in China, noting that it is famous for many key industries, technology, and innovation.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Sheikh Khalifa and Ruiping witnessed signing an agreement between Taleb Group and Chengdu Hi-tech Zone with a view to boosting their cooperation.
On his part, Chairman of Taleb Group Mohamed Taleb Al Khauri presented an overview about the group and its activities in real estate, education, hotels, and industry, noting that it is looking to expand operations in new sectors.
The Peninsula
04/09/2019
